For those who don’t know, I am a massive Amy Poehler fan. I mean, MASSIVE. She is my spirit animal. And since she hasn’t told me otherwise, I’m assuming that I’m hers as well. A few weeks ago I ran into her at my neighborhood farmer’s market (and by ‘ran into’, I mean I went up to her and fan-girled out on her, BIG TIME) and I about passed out from excitement. Strangely, she did not ask me if I wanted to get coffee with her later or go shopping or get mani/pedis together as has happened oftentimes in my dreams. But anyway, I recently discovered that one our my school’s board members is her business manager, which gave me an idea. Why not invite her to speak at our school, possibly at a big celebration of women in our community, a celebration in which I would have to plan from the ground up? And while I went to bed that night thinking there was no way Amy would say no to such an impassioned request, sadly, it turns out that she does not do school functions. Apparently she didn’t even speak at her own high school when she was approached. And so, my dreams were dashed. But, that’s beside the point. The point is, having Nik Sharma, the incredible creative genius behind A Brown Table, do a guest post on my blog is very near the feeling I imagined of having Amy Poehler speak at my school. I’ve admired Nik’s work since he started his blog and to have him not only create a recipe and share it via Jewhungry but to also say nice things about me!? Well, that’s some awesome stuff. Excuse me while I fan-girl out . . . again.

I came across Whitney’s blog, Jewhungry a while ago on Instagram and quickly fell in love with her style and work. She is fun and super sweet and when she asked me to share a recipe on Jewhungry, I was more than happy and excited. Today, I’m sharing a recipe for steamed rainbow chard rolls that are stuffed with some of my favorite ingredients, sweet potatoes and green chickpeas. Rainbow chard is in season right now and the colors that are available are absolutely gorgeous! So here is my take on some fun vegetables that are in full swing right now!

If you can’t find green chickpeas, use the regular kind. I like green chickpeas because even though they get tender when boiled, they don’t fall apart to a mushy texture like the regular chickpeas. I’ve flavored the filling with a few spices common to Indian cooking but feel free to play with the amount of cayenne depending on how intense you like heat in your food. This is one of those recipes, that you can make a few days ahead of time and then eat them whenever you want.

There are no hard and fast rules to this recipe but I do suggest a few recommendations while preparing these rolls. To make the rainbow chard leaves more pliable and amenable to rolling, I dunk them in a pot of boiling water for a few seconds, it will make things much easier for you. At this point you can eat them as is (since the filling is cooked separately). You can also steam them as I did below and serve them before eating. The main thing here is to have fun while cooking and enjoying eating!

12 large (around 10” long) rainbow chard leaves, rinsed and cleaned + a few extra to line a bamboo steamer

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil (you might need a little more depending on how much oil the sweet potatoes absorb)

1 1/2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher sea salt

1/4 cup red onions, chopped fine

1 teaspoon garlic, minced fine

1 inch piece ginger root, peeled and julienned

1 cup green chickpeas (or regular chickpeas) boiled and drained

1/4 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon cumin seed powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

a little olive oil for brushing the leaf rolls

Trim the thick end of the midrib off from the rainbow chard leaves. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil on a high flame. Using a pair of tongs, immerse and submerge the leaves in the water for exactly 10 seconds and remove them immediately, drain in a colander and keep aside until ready to assemble.

Heat one tablespoon of oil in a wok or medium-size saucepan with a lid on medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes along with 1 teaspoon of the salt, stir to coat evenly and cover with lid. Cook for about 6-8 minutes until the potatoes are slightly browned and tender. Remove from wok/saucepan and keep aside in a large mixing bowl.

In the same wok/saucepan, heat the rest of the oil on medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté them for 1 minute. Stir in the garlic and ginger and sauté for 30 seconds, add the chickpeas and sauté for 4-5 minutes with occasional stirring. They should get slightly seared. Add the garam masala, cumin, and cayenne pepper along with the sweet potatoes previously cooked and stir to coat evenly. Cook for 1 additional minute, remove from stove and drizzle with the fresh lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

To assemble the rolls, take one softened rainbow chard leaf with the shiny side facing outside. Place one generous tablespoon of the sweet potato and chickpea filling at the top end of the leaf, leaving a little gap on both sides of the filling. Fold the empty gap on each side and then roll the leaf starting topside over itself to form a cigar (this is exactly how you would roll a grape leaf to make a dolmade). Prepare the rest of the leaf rolls in the same manner, brush each roll lightly with the olive oil and place them in a bamboo steamer lined with a few extra leaves. You can also skip the steaming if you don’t want to cook the leaves. Steam the leaves for 3-4 minutes and serve warm. Store the extra in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Note: If you don’t like the thick midrib in the leaf, I would recommend steaming the leaf rolls a little longer for around 10-12 minutes.

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Hi! In case you’re wondering, I did not fall off the face of the Earth. It’s just been a trying couple of weeks. Luckily for me, however, I’ve got some amazing friends who have been incredibly supportive during this time. And speaking of amazing friends, this post is round 2 of the “please help me fill my blog with content while I chase around my 2.5 year-old and pray for September to come”. This one is from my dear friend, Yosef, over at This American Bite. Not only is Yosef also a father (of 3, no less!) and works full time but he also totally gets the challenges of trying to keep this blogging thing afloat while balancing life. So, naturally, I asked him to put one more thing on his plate by requesting he do a guest post for me. I mean, that’ s what friends are for, right? Anyway, below he brings you a quick and easy (and delicious) recipe perfect for the week day dinner rush. I hope you like!

Two hours ago, I was wondering when in the world I would find time to get this recipe to my buddy Whitney without me asking if I could push the deadline one more time. Now I’m sitting at BWI airport watching my delayed flight home get pushed later and later, and I’d love to be able to snack on a bowl of chicken wings.

That’s the thing about wings.

Whether you snack on them, serve them with the Super Bowl or make them for dinner, there’s something comforting and social about them. Now, these aren’t the traditional buffalo wings that Whitney grew up with in the South, but they sure are a favorite of mine.

I happen to love chicken. I’d prefer a perfectly roasted chicken dinner to many other meals (and this may be my all-time favorite one-pot chicken recipe) and I have found the chicken wings make the perfect vehicle for any spice or seasoning that works with a full chicken. Curry cumin chicken wings. Za’atar garlic chicken wings. Red hot chili wings. No matter how you season them wings, this is my mess-free, quick and easy, chicken wing life hack.

For this recipe, I’m sharing spicy wings that I love to serve with crispy red-chili flake sweet potato fries but rest assured that I have used this method for all sorts of spice blends.

Spicy Wings for Whitney

Ingredients:

2lb Chicken Wings (or drumettes)

3 teaspoons garlic power

1 teaspoon red cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon salt

Splash of Hot Sauce (I use Burning Bush or Cholula)

Method:

If you are using frozen wings, defrost them in the fridge. Once they are defrosted, pat them dry with a paper towel. It’s easy to think that patting them dry does nothing and take a shortcut, but let me assure you, for that crispy, heavenly wing, pat them dry.

Pre heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Mix all the dry seasoning in a bowl then sprinkle evenly on both sides of the wings. You can double up the quantities if you need more.

Do not forget the salt. Do not be afraid of salt! Many kosher cooks skip the salt when they are cooking and I promise you it makes a difference. I learned this from my buddy Chris and I thank him for it every time I add salt to my kosher meat or chicken!

Put in the oven for 45 minutes, an hour if you want them a little crispier. You can even finish them off with three minutes under the broiler to speed this along.

Before serving, splash with a dash of your favorite hot sauce, and serve this with my awesome sweet potato fries!

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As long-time readers of Jewhungry know, this year is, shall we say, weird. Way back in July, I took the kid and the husband and we moved to Los Angeles so that I could start a new job as the Director of Counseling at a private school. The thing about the move is that though we all might have ‘moved’ to LA, my husband actually still lives in Miami where he’s finishing his PhD in Marine Biology. So it’s just me and our toddler here, mining our way through this new city while I’m also getting to know the ins and outs of my new job. As a result, I’m kinda tired, like, ALL THE TIME. Thus, my food blogging has taken a back step to things like sleep and entertaining a toddler. Since I’m proud of my blog and am quite passionate about food and the creative process, I don’t want to see Jewhungry dwindle to nothing while we wait for September to circle around and the husband can permanently join us in LA (and I can get a little co-parenting going on). Thus, I got on my Bat Phone email and sent out an S.O.S. to see who might help a sister out. Luckily for me, I’ve made some insanely awesome connections with some insanely generous and lovely food bloggers. Therefore, over the next several months, you’ll be seeing guest posts from Nik at A Brown Table, Melinda from Kitchen Tested, Yosef from This American Bite, Molly from my name is yeh, Chanie from Busy in Brooklyn, Rebecca from Foodie with Family, Shannon from The Nosher, Amy from What Jew Wanna Eat, Liz from Kosher Like Me, and Renee from Will Frolic for Food (our first contributor)! I mean, its foodie heaven!! First up, Renee . . .

Hey there! Renee here from Will Frolic for Food. Over on my blog, I post recipes that are 100% vegetarian and almost exclusively gluten free & cow dairy free. But does that even matter? NO. What matters is that breakfast is the best. THE BEST I TELL YOU.

A good, luxurious breakfast sets me in a good mood all day. If my breakfast is quick/skipped/gross I get this deep impression that I’ve missed out on something in life. Like I’ve missed a beautiful sunrise or baby’s first steps. Alright I’m being a little bit overdramatic but that’s just how I feel dammit! Breakfast is so crucial, both to having even, long-lasting energy all day, and retaining a balanced digestive fire. I personally have a pretty fiery appetite (I will eat all of your avocados and I’m not sorry.). So if my breakfast is light or nonexistent I admit I feel hungry all day, and late into the evening.

Which is why me + avocado toast = best friends. It helps cool down that intense oven in my belly (avocado = cooling). I eat it almost every day that I possibly can. And topped with an egg it’s like heaven come down to this earthly plane.

Also, my other new best friend is kraut — the new babe in the band. The kraut on this avo toast is made by my friends over at Farmstead Ferments. Maybe this is still a secret (idk how this works) but they just got their nutrition facts tested and there are over 1 billion probiotic strains in their kimchis and sauerkrauts! I did a lil cartoon double take at that number, but it’s true. That’s like taking a high quality probiotic dose in the most stanky/delicious form that could possibly exist. Mo’ tangy, garlicky probiotics please!

Melt a teaspoon of ghee or coconut oil in a cast iron pan set over medium low heat. Crack your egg into the pan once it’s warm (if your pan is cracking and spitting like mad when you add a drop of water, turn the heat down). Add 1 tablespoon water and cover. Cook until the white is opaque and set — the yolk will still be soft. You can touch it with the tip of your finger to check the temperature. It should be warmed above body temperature, but not hot. Remove with a spatula to a plate and set aside.

Cut your avocado in-skin lengthwise so that you get long slices. Spoon the slices out over top of your toast and press down and out gently so that the avocado resembles a fan. Top with as much kraut as you please — mine had about 3 tablespoons. Top with your egg and a sprinkle of salt to taste. Now you have a choice: nice and polite with a knife and fork, or go utensil-free and take it straight to the face.